Posted: 11/10/06

Officers struggle with trust issues

By Polly House

LifeWay Christian Resources

RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)—Don’t trust. Don’t feel. Don’t talk. Counselors know advice like that is a recipe for emotional and spiritual disaster. But any law enforcement officer knows such advice could save his life.

“We struggle with the word ‘trust,’ every day,” said Jack Poe, chaplain for the Oklahoma City Police Department.

“But this summit is a safe place. It’s a place where you can let your guard down for a while and relax. We’re all family here.”

Poe joined more than 150 law enforcement officers, firemen, federal agents, chaplains and their spouses at the fifth Law Enforcement Summit at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, N.C. LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention sponsored the summit.

Paul Gilbreath—area commander of the Dallas region of Homeland Security, working in Immigration Customs Enforcement, and pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Lancaster—led one of the many breakout sessions during the summit.

In his seminar, titled “When a Cop is not a Cop,” he reminded officers they have to take off their gamefaces sometimes.

“When the weapon is secured and the badge and the uniform are hanging in the closet; when you’re second-guessing the decisions you made during your shift and you can’t get that picture of that small child out of your mind; when you keep hearing over and over the echo of the radio traffic from the officer calling for back up ‘now’ and you know you can’t get there quickly enough—when all these things build up in your mind, how do you release it?” Gilbreath asked.

“Some drink. Others build up walls around themselves and become mean.

“Still others isolate themselves to a point that no one, not the wife or the children or the best friend, can penetrate. But you have to find a way to cope with the life of being a cop.”

Law enforcement personnel have a stress unique to their jobs, and the results of that stress can have outward signs such as lower job satisfaction, higher divorce rates, higher alcoholism and drug use and higher suicide rates.

“For every cop killed in the line of duty, three are killed by their own hand,” Gilbreath said. “The stress is a killer.”

While he reaches people in the pew in his growing church, Gilbreath said as a police officer, he has had the opportunity to influence and minister to people the church will never reach.

Churches can help law enforcement officers and their spouses cope with the stresses they live with every day by offering support, spiritual encouragement, prayer and patient understanding, participants at the summit noted.

Posted: 11/10/06

On the Move

• Jared Gibson has resigned as minister of students at First Church of Wake Village in Texarkana.

• Jonathan Godfrey has resigned as music minister at Trinity Church in Gatesville.

• Jerry Hibbs to Southside Church in Granbury as minister of music.

• Scott Higginbotham to First Church in Lampasas as youth minister.

• Stephen Knott to McQueeney Church in McQueeney as pastor.

• Jim Love has resigned as pastor of Westover Church in San Marcos.

• Doug McPherson has resigned as music minister of Coryell Community Church in Gatesville.

• Charles Nicholson to Westover Church in San Marcos as interim pastor.

• Butch Perkins has resigned as pastor of First Church in Lometa.

• C.C. Risenhoover to Waples Church in Granbury as pastor.

• Barry Schahn to First Church in Gorman as pastor, where he had been interim.

• Jim Simmons to Coryell Community Church in Gatesville as music minister from First Church in Evant.

• Matt Ward to First Church in Godley as minister of music/minister of education.

• Barry Wellman to Cottonwood Church in Bryan as interim pastor.

• Dennis Whitmire to First Church in Nash as pastor.

• Aaron Woods to College Avenue Church in McGregor as minister of youth.

Posted: 11/10/06

Prepare for unexpected,
preschool leader urges churches

By George Henson

Staff Writer

GRAND PRAIRIE—Church preschools and mothers’ day out centers must plan for the unexpected so when a crisis arises, protocols already are in place, a veteran preschool leader said at Dallas Baptist Association’s Institute for Childcare Excellence, held at First Baptist Church in Grand Prairie.

Judy Lewis, who has been director of the child development center at Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas five years and has worked in preschool leadership 35 years, said churches need to be proactive in their approach.

“Disasters can come just like that. They are not planned. We may think it can’t happen to us—and especially not on a Sunday morning—but it can,” she said.

Every plan for dealing with unexpected situations needs to have at least three components, Lewis counseled—evacuation, transportation and rejoining children with their parents.

Preschoolers and children may need to leave the rooms they normally are in for a variety of reasons, such as fire, tornados and terrorist attacks among others, she said. That relocation point needs to be spelled out to parents and other people who have a need to know.

If children are going to be relocated to a basement room in another building, for example, the local fire department needs to know that relocation point so that time will not be wasted trying to locate where the children have gone.

The transportation of children to an alternate location can be especially troublesome logistically, Lewis said.

“I have a 10-passenger van and 200 children in my daycare. I have to have a plan for all those children,” she said.

The final facet is how to get children and their parents back together after the crisis is over.

One thing a plan does is give the adults involved a rubric that can allow them to feel the situation is under control, which is what the children in their classrooms need, she said.

“If we as adults are panicked, what is going to happen to them? They are going to panic, too,” Lewis pointed out. A plan can help keep everyone calmer, she said.

Lewis also pointed out that whatever the danger, children are more at risk. In an aerosol chemical emergency, aerosols rapidly descend to children’s levels. Also, children have smaller lungs and so have more rapid respirations, causing them to inhale more of the gas. Children have thinner skin, she said, so they are also more susceptible to caustic skin agents. Even e-coli or flu outbreaks are worse for children, because they have fewer body fluid reserves.

“‘Children are little adults.’ We hear that all the time, but nothing could be more false. We have to get rid of those thoughts. Children are far more vulnerable to almost every danger and must be protected,” she said.

Lewis divided the dangers that might call for emergency action into two types—man-made and natural. Man-made crises include domestic violence, shootings or terrorist attacks. Tornados, winter storms, excessive heat, earthquakes and fires are examples of natural events for which plans should be in place, she said.

As an example, Lewis said her site went into a lockdown mode just a few weeks before, when an armored-car robbery and a domestic disturbance led to a shooting, with an at-large suspect in the area sought by police.

During that time, teachers manning the locked doors kept in contact with one another using the walkie-talkies already in place for such an event. Each teacher had an evacuation roster of students in attendance that day on a clipboard, so they knew exactly for whom they were responsible.

Also, each teacher has a backpack with crucial supplies, such as diapers, sanitary wipes, flashlights and other emergency items, that is kept packed and ready to go near the classroom door, she noted.

It is important for the items to be placed in something like a backpack so that teachers can put it on their back and have both hands free to help children, she said.

Child-care providers not only should have a plan, but also rehearse emergency drills from time to time, she noted.

“If you don’t practice your drills, you’re asking for trouble,” she said.

Teachers and other adults should know what the plans are and what their responsibilities are in each situation, she added.

“If you don’t have an employee handbook to help your employees know what to do in a difficult situation, you need one,” Lewis said.

Also, each teacher should know if any children are diabetic or have other medical problems that require regular medication—particularly if students remain beyond regular school hours. It also is important not only to have home and work telephone numbers for parents, but also cell phone numbers as well, she said.

“Take time now to prepare your centers, because it can save you a whole lot of time in the future,” she said.

Posted: 11/10/06

Reader’s Theater workers
model Christ-like patience

By Miranda Bradley

Children at Heart Foundation

ROUND ROCK—Asking a child with a speech impediment to read aloud could be a recipe for disaster, making him a prime target for ridicule.

Instead, as he nervously reads It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, he is assisted through his stumbling by another child.

Encouraging children to help one another is one way Texas Baptist Children’s Home, which sponsors the after-school Reader’s Theater program at Round Rock’s Gattis Elementary School, teaches Christian principles by example.

Workers cannot promote their religious beliefs among students at the public school, but that doesn’t keep them from sharing their faith through actions, said Sarah Eubank, HOPE program supervisor.

“We just try to be an example of God’s love by accepting these kids where they are,” she said.

Reader’s Theater began five years ago through Texas Baptist Children’s Home HOPE program, with the goal to build the confidence of the school’s less-capable readers. Teachers select students they feel could benefit from the program. Through time, creativity and patience, Eubank said, she sees great progress in students they serve.

“One girl came here and spoke in a whisper, so you could barely hear her. She was very shy,” she said.

“The next year, she came back as a leader. She was ready to stand in front of the class and read.”

As children become more proficient in their skills, the program encourages them to reach new levels. First, it’s reading out loud in a circle. Next, they recite lines from a play in front of the class. By the end of the semester, HOPE staff brings in props, and the students perform an entire piece.

“We want to build on their reading skills,” Eubank said. “By the end, they are much more confident and able to read out loud. It’s a wonderful transformation.”

HOPE provides outreach to apartment communities throughout the Round Rock area, offering children a place to focus their energy and time. They also assist with financial relief, referrals and other resources for hurting families.

Recently, HOPE also began providing parenting classes through other area schools.

“We’re here to help the community,” Eubank said. “Whatever their needs, if we can’t fulfill them, we will find someone who can.”

During a recent Readers Theater, as the story of the Great Pumpkin was finished, the student chose their own pumpkins to decorate for fall. As they shared colors and praise with their peers, Eubanks observed, the seeds of positive influence were taking root.

“We focus on having a strong relationship with the children,” Eubank said. “If the kids ever ask me about my faith, I will tell them. Until then, we’re modeling Christ by loving them and being there when they need us.”

For more information on the HOPE Program, visit www.tbch.org.

Posted: 11/10/06

Same-sex marriage bans
a mixed bag at the polls

By Robert Marus

ABP Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (ABP)—Gay-rights supporters and opponents both claimed victory after the Nov. 7 midterm elections, with voters in seven states approving same-sex marriage bans and Arizona becoming the first state in the country to reject such an amendment.

The measure failed narrowly, with 51.4 percent opposed to Proposition 107 and 48.6 percent in favor.

In the seven other states where marriage bans passed, most received a comfortable majority. Nonetheless, the margins were narrower, on average, than in the 13 states that approved similar bans in 2004.

In South Dakota—overwhelmingly rural and with high percentages of white Catholic and evangelical voters—the marriage amendment passed on a 52-48 percent vote.

And in Virginia, voters approved the measure on a 57-43 percent vote. That matches the margin of victory for a 2004 anti-gay-marriage amendment in much more liberal Oregon.

Most of the 2004 gay-marriage amendments passed by majorities of 70 percent or more. But on Nov. 7, such ballot measures garnered support exceeding 60 percent in only three of eight states—Idaho (63 percent), South Carolina (78 percent) and Tennessee (81 percent).

Either way, the constitutions of a majority of states now explicitly ban same-sex marriage. Many of those also ban “civil unions,” legal arrangements approximating the status of marriage for same-sex couples. That shows Americans still oppose gay marriage and continue to fear judicial decisions will impose legalized same-sex marriage on an unwilling populace, according to the head of one conservative Washington think tank.

“We see once again (that) when traditional marriage is put to the people, they will support traditional marriage,” said Jim Tonkowich, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, in a statement.

In a related matter, Colorado voters also rejected a bid to institute domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.

As of late afternoon Nov. 8, it appeared that voters had rejected by a 53-47 percent margin a proposition to create the marriage-like relationships.

Posted: 11/10/06

Abortion ban overturned in South Dakota

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (ABP)—Voters in South Dakota overturned the nation’s most stringent abortion ban Nov. 7—55 percent to 45 percent. Supporters of the ban had hoped to use it to challenge the 33-year-old Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

Mike Rounds, South Dakota’s Republican governor, signed the act into law March 6. Called Referred Law 6, or the "Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act," it prohibited abortions during all stages of pregnancy and in cases of rape and incest. Although it offered no exceptions for mothers in poor health, the ban did allow abortion if the mother’s life was threatened.

State legislators passed the measure last spring thinking court litigation from opponents would force the U.S. Supreme Court to reevaluate its 1973 abortion decision. Instead, opponents gathered enough signatures to hold a statewide referendum on the measure, effectually letting voters decide the outcome.

Ban opponents said it seriously endangered the health of women. Some doctors said it would affect their ability to treat pregnant women for serious illnesses like diabetes and cancer.

Supporters said the ban did not prevent emergency morning-after contraceptives, which are becoming available over the counter. They said abortion was being used too often as a form of retroactive birth control at the state’s one abortion clinic, located in Sioux Falls. The clinic performs roughly 800 abortions a year.

Jeff Carr, chief operating officer of the evangelical social justice group Sojourners/Call to Renewal, said the results don’t necessarily mean conservatives aren’t concerned about abortion, but it means they want to address its root cause—unwanted pregnancy.

“In South Dakota, clearly the abortion law was really very strict,” he said. “When 60 percent of women (nationwide) get abortions for economic reasons, it seems to me that there are some really important decisions that Congress could make to really reduce the number of abortions without criminalizing women.”

Similarly, Eric McFadden, field director for Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, said Catholic conservatives “do not want to stand for abortion,” but they believe criminalization is not the answer. He said election results in other states, like wins for pro-life governors, show that people have begun to seek solutions to unwanted pregnancies instead of blindly legislating against abortion.

“What we saw was that when these issues were talked about, like unwanted abortions, (candidates) were very popular when thinking of ways to actually address the problem of abortion,” he said.

Still, the overturned ban dealt a blow to conservatives, who had raised $2 million to defend it. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, thanked pro-lifers in South Dakota who “worked tirelessly to defend” the abortion ban. He also called on them to pray for additional energy in campaigning against abortion.

“These results should confirm the resolve of all pro-lifers that we must redouble our efforts to protect all innocent human life,” he said in a statement following the vote. “While South Dakotans fought valiantly to defend their babies, we once again witnessed an almost total lack of support from the national leadership in addressing this foundational issue that defines our nation's future."

Human Life International is the world's largest pro-life, pro-family human rights organization, with over 90 affiliates in 75 countries around the world.

Posted: 11/10/06

‘Sunday-best apparel’ is not what it used to be

By Erica Harms and Sammie Jo Barstow

Associated Baptist Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP)—Depending on where a person worships, wearing one’s “Sunday best” to church today might not mean what it once did.

On Sunday mornings, more and more people are passing on dresses or ties and opting for blue jeans or khakis instead.

A dilemma now exists between the argument that casual clothing makes visitors feel welcome and the desire to dress in finer clothes out of respect for God’s house.

Harold Fanning, pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Decatur, Ala., said his church is more “business casual” than anything else.

“Personally, I wear a suit on Sunday mornings, but I usually dress casual on Sunday evening—more of a sport jacket, slacks and no tie,” he said.

But for Cecil Taylor, dean of the School of Christian studies at the University of Mobile, going casual means a slightly different look. Taylor wears jeans to church and said he doesn’t mean any disrespect to God by doing so.

After all, Taylor recalled, David was anointed king of Israel after working in the fields.

In the biblical story, David’s divine appointment is preceded by God telling Samuel of other candidates, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

“The important thing is to come before the Lord,” Taylor said. “I think whether I wear jeans or a three-piece suit is immaterial before the Lord.”

The definition of “casual” and how it’s worn is immaterial—the real battle is against the suggestive clothing creeping into the churches, said Theresa Shadrix, a member of the Association of Image Consultants International.

“There is so much of the world in church today that we no longer stand out as a group of people by the way that we dress,” Shadrix said.

Shadrix, who also is co-director of the Miss Jacksonville State University pageant, has helped women of all ages find their style and motivate them to dress in a way both enjoyable and true to their religious convictions.

The moment Shadrix gave her life to Christ at the age of 19, she said, not only did her heart change, but so did the clothes her closet flaunted.

“I was not raised in a Christian home, so when I dedicated my life to Christ and married my Christian husband, I had to clean out my closet—literally,” she said.

That was an issue that also concerned several women at First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Bare midriffs, too-short skirts and strapless dresses were becoming common Sunday attire, they said. The women wondered if fashion and modesty could be combined.

To that end, they hosted a fashion show involving more than 70 models ranging in age from 18 months to 70-plus years. Ten vendors furnished everything from casual clothes to dressy suits and eveningwear.

“We wanted to show women, young and old, that we can be feminine, stylish and fashionable while still remaining modest in our dress,” Robin Ford, who coordinated the event, said.

“Although I don’t have a daughter, I do have a son, and I am concerned about the young women who will turn his head one day,” said Ford, who became concerned about inappropriate dress about three years ago.

“I realized that modesty needs to be emphasized. And I believe the perfect organization to teach modesty to women is the one God created—the church.”

Between segments of the fashion show, Barbara Gladney provided a Bible study emphasizing biblical guidelines on dress and encouraging women to value themselves and the image they portray as Christians.

For teens, that image is difficult because they get mixed signals about fashion from society and the church, said Shadrix, the image consultant.

Pastor Fanning said as long as his church’s teenagers aren’t wearing sexually inappropriate clothing, he is thankful to have them in church, however they are dressed.

Students with body piercings may challenge the norm for church appearance.

“But I’d rather have a kid looking like … he fell headfirst into a tackle box than out somewhere other than church,” he said.

With reporting by the Alabama Baptist and Religion News Service.

Posted: 11/10/06

Texas Tidbits

Baylor Neuroscience Center recognized. Baylor Neuroscience Center at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas has been designated a Neuroscience Center of Excellence by the 2006 Neuroscience Center of Excellence Survey, co-sponsored by NeuroSource in Chicago and HealthTech in San Francisco. The Baylor Neuroscience Center also was listed as one of the nation’s top neuroscience programs in U.S. News & World Report’s 2006 list of America’s Best Hospitals. The 2006 survey, the only one of its kind in the neurosciences, analyzed 150 neuroscience programs, across 41 states. A hospital’s overall performance is determined by measuring program progress in four key areas—clinical and research programs, staff, facilities/technology and business. The Baylor Neuroscience Center at Baylor Dallas was awarded the highest possible recognition—Institute Status.

Business educators discuss ethics. Business ethics was the focus of the recent meeting of the Southwest Council for the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, held at Dallas Baptist University. The conference drew business educators from 32 schools in five states to DBU. Keynote speaker Carlos Sepulveda, president and chief executive officer of Interstate Batteries, told the group how his company uses biblical principles—alongside common sense and sound business practices—as guideposts. “It means, ‘If it’s not yours, don’t take it,’ and ‘Treat others the way you want to be treated,’” he explained.

Three scholarships endowed at Wayland. Three West Texas couples recently created endowed scholarships at Wayland Baptist University. Leon and Dorothy Foote of Seminole dedicated a scholarship in their name to assist students at Wayland seeking a Christian education. Lee and Nita Parks of Midland endowed the Juanita Clepper Parks Women’s Athletic Scholarship Fund. Clinton and Gerry Kennedy of Plainview endowed a scholarship in memory of his brother, Edwin Lee Kennedy, who was severely mentally and physically handicapped and died at the age of 15. The scholarship is designated to support students with physical or mental challenges to enable them to further their education and lead more productive lives.

ETBU to host Shadow Day. High school seniors and college transfer students will have the opportunity to “shadow” current East Texas Baptist University students and learn about campus life during Shadow Day, Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The campus visit allows prospective students to spend a night in the dorm, socialize with current students and visit with professors at breakfast and by attending classes. Shadow Day participants will join current students in attending a Thursday evening event by Jonathan Dupree, a Christian illusionist and former ETBU student. Space is limited and registration required. A $15 nonrefundable fee must be paid to reserve registration. For more information, visit www.etbu.edu or call (800) 804-ETBU (3828).

Howard Payne volunteers join Walk-A-Thon. More than 200 Howard Payne University students, faculty and staff participated in a recent Breast Cancer Awareness Walk-a-Thon, raising $2,273.44. All proceeds will support the Breast Cancer Awareness Program of the YWCA of Abilene, which serves a 23-county area, including Brown County. It supports educational initiatives, as well as helping women obtain detection and treatment services. Howard Payne nurse Sandy Smith organized the five-hour event, which ended with a candlelight vigil. During the vigil, names of friends and family who are battling or have fought breast cancer were read aloud.

Posted: 11/10/06

TOGETHER:
Work together to share God’s grace

“Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

Those are the Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 6:2. He reveals the truth that God has smiled on the world, that there is a new hope come to humanity.

When Jesus was baptized, “heaven was opened” (Matthew 3:16). I heard Denton Lotz, leader of the Baptist World Alliance, say it was common before Jesus for people to believe that the heavens were closed except for a few. But God, in Christ, throws open the heavens. Now, all of us—Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female—are candidates for God’s grace.

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

Or as Dallas Willard puts it in The Divine Conspiracy, “The really good news for humanity is that Jesus is now taking students in the master class of life.” Jesus invites us to enroll in this class and to learn from him. It is a class where we learn to become like our teacher. And there is no sign in the registration line that says, “Class closed.” There is a seat for everyone who wishes to enter.

Salvation is really about living. It is about leaving behind a shadow life that is centered on self and leads to death. It is about entering true life through acceptance of God’s gracious gift of forgiveness and empowerment of his Spirit to live a life of faith, hope and love.

This great gift of salvation is what Texas Baptists are all about. We have received this gift ourselves, and we are not content to enjoy it only among ourselves. We want others to experience what God gives to all who believe. Working together, we put feet to our faith, substance to our hope and zeal to our love.

Our annual meeting each fall is a time to gather, to celebrate our God-given mission and to plan for our efforts together. In Dallas this year, our purpose is no different.

Those who attend will participate in this purpose, and I trust they will feel a deeper sense of commitment to the work of their broader faith family. Throughout redemptive history, God has wanted his people to gather for times of worship, reflection and encouragement. We do this today regularly in our churches, and we do it once each year at our annual meeting.

There are, however, those of you who are unable to attend the annual meeting. You can still feel a connection to this magnificent family of faith. Just as first century readers rejoiced in hearing about the work of God’s people in other places as Paul and others wrote letters and reports, we can today be connected by reading and listening to reports of God’s work. The Baptist Standard and the BGCT website can help do this today.

As we focus right now on our annual meeting, we keep Paul’s words quoted above in mind. And note the phrase from the preceding verse, “As God’s fellow workers, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.”

As we work together in Texas, we will not take God’s grace for granted, nor will we fail to share it. Together, we become a life-giving blessing in more ways and places than we could alone.

The promise of his saving favor is the good news that sends us across Texas and around the world.

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

Posted: 11/10/06

Degree of Difference Day draws Wayland workers

By Teresa Young

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW—About 300 Wayland Baptist University students, faculty and staff donated a recent Saturday to community projects throughout the Plainview area as part of the school’s Degree of Difference Day.

Each volunteer worked at least five hours. Teams worked in construction on a Habitat for Humanity house; painted and made minor repairs for the College Hill Day Care Center, Wee Care Child Center, Whiteaker Youth Center, Plainview Christian Academy and Compassionate Care Preg-nancy Center; and did office work and organizational projects at the Hale County Crisis Center and Vista Care Hospice.

Wayland volunteers also picked up trash and weeds at the Plainview Cemetery and marked the graves of Civil War veterans; visited and entertained in three nursing homes; created pottery bowls for the Empty Bowls project for hunger relief; cheered on Special Olympics athletes; led a college day on campus for city Girl Scouts, including a basketball camp led by the Flying Queens; and built shelves and organized an office for the Hale County Historical Society.

Khrystyne Eckerd of Ruidoso, N.M., paints around the sink in a restroom at the Whiteaker Youth Center during the Wayland Baptist University day of service. Others in her team stripped and waxed floors in three large rooms in the center.

About 30 volunteers worked a marching band contest at Plainview’s Bulldog stadium, an event that lasted into the evening.

A small team spent their morning making sandwich sack lunches for the working crews and delivering them to each work site, and members of Pi Sigma Sigma math and science fraternity tutored junior high and high school students in the afternoon.

Students expressed excitement at being able to make an impact in Plainview, even if it meant doing a job they were not likely to take on normally.

“Working with mentally handicapped people is way out of my comfort zone,” said Melissa Knight, a freshman from Prosper. “I was a little apprehensive at first, but once I got there, I just did what I could do to help, and it became more comfortable.”

Other students found encouragement as they worked alongside students whom they didn’t know and saw the scope of projects the day entailed.

“Sometimes serving in my home church or here at Wayland, I get discouraged thinking I’m not doing a lot or being effective,” said Tamara Haney, a senior from Shallowater. “But today, God reminded me that I’m not alone. His work is always going on, and it encouraged me to continue to work and serve.”

By joining as one unit, students learned valuable lessons about the impact that service can make even in tasks that seem minuscule. Joanne Jacob, a freshman from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, had an encounter with a lonely resident at Care Inn that drove this lesson home.

“She was just extremely grateful that we went to see her. It’s amazing how much it means to someone when you spend a few hours visiting with them,” she said. “It touches your heart to see them so happy by your small sacrifice of a little time.”

Christi Shields, a freshman from Smyer, had a similar reflection.

“It helped me realize that the littlest of things mean so much to those receiving,” she said. “It means so much more when you do something for others for no money than when you do it to just get paid.”

Staff members working alongside Wayland students learned not only more about the population they serve in the workplace, but also more about the community. The students and their attitudes made an impression in particular on Mike Melcher, director of corporate development.

“This made me feel even better about the quality of students we have,” he said. “They were all eager to help and didn’t gripe and moan. Many times I was asked what else they could do. I’m proud of our kids.”

A residual goal of the service day, according to Hope English, co-organizer of the event, was that students would get “bit by the service bug” and want to continue serving. In that respect, the successes were many.

Wayland students Tim Barnes (left) and Joey Mowery (right) pull large stones from the driveway at Compassionate Care Pregnancy Center with help from Bobby Hall, provost at Wayland Baptist University, during the Degree of Difference Day of service.

“One student told me he’d be willing to go back (to College Hill Day Care) and do whatever was needed anytime. That’s what this was all about,” English said. “You hear about service a lot, but when you get in there and do it, you really get a feel for it. Serving others has brought me such joy, and we said that if we turned one kid on to service, it was worth it.”

Another group of students spent part of their day brainstorming how their group, the Kappa Delta Pi education honor society, could continue to serve the Hale County Crisis Center, calling their assignment a perfect fit.

“It is not what you do that matters but the reason you do it and what your heart is willing to give to that service,” said Rachel Stanfield, a freshman from Plainview. “I thought this day was really good. I’m glad I got out of bed for this.”

Posted: 11/10/06

Singles seek soul mates on the Web

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—For spiritual singles seeking a soul mate in cyberspace, one pool of potential matches is about to get a lot bigger.

Beliefnet, whose spirituality website—Beliefnet.com—attracts 3.1 million users per month, announced it will connect its dating service users with those of Yahoo Personals, an online dating service based in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Under the agreement, Yahoo! Personals will host Beliefnet’s Soulmatch dating venue.

The new arrangement gives users of Soulmatch access to as many as 5 million singles who troll for new connections each month on the Yahoo Personals site.

“For so many people, finding a soul match means connecting on a deep level—seeing what’s on the inside as well as on the outside,” said Steven Waldman, CEO and co-founder of Beliefnet.

“We want to help people who believe that spiritual connection is an important part of building a great relationship.”

Currently, women—who make up 60 percent of Beliefnet users—outnumber men on the Soulmatch website, Waldman said. But he expects “the partnership with Yahoo will even that out.”

Beliefnet’s agreement with Yahoo Personals comes at a time when social networking sites, such as MySpace, are demonstrating critical ability to attract large numbers of loyal visitors.

Beliefnet originally launched Soulmatch, Waldman said, after noticing “the tremendous popularity of advertising for spiritually oriented online dating on our site.”

Among those advertisers was eHarmony, an online dating service that attributes millions of matches to a process that explores such factors as core values, spiritual beliefs, passions and character. However, the Beliefnet-Yahoo site takes a somewhat different ap-proach from eHarmony, Waldman said. While eHarmony uses a mathematical formula to generate a list of potential matches, the Beliefnet-Yahoo site gives users the tools to make their own short lists.

This year, eHarmony expanded its service to include interactive tools for helping married couples nurture their relationship.

Beliefnet and Yahoo Personals are taking a similar step by offering “expert relationship and dating advice” on their site to help users “build strong relationships.”

“We believe a great spiritual dating site would offer a large community of daters, excellent search and matching tools, and superlative content about spiritual relationships,” said Anna Zornosa, vice president and general manager for Yahoo Personals.

“Our partnership with Beliefnet will give us the opportunity to provide all three elements to customers seeking spiritual chemistry.”

Posted: 11/10/06

Youth ministers urged to
understand middle-school culture

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

ARLINGTON—Chaos, confusion and abandonment characterize youth culture today, a national youth ministry expert asserted. But he challenged Baptist youth ministers to help teens turn the chaos into the comfort Christ brings.

Christian author and youth ministry specialist Chap Clark, associate professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, urges youth ministers to spend time in the real world.

“Youth ministers cannot ignore the real picture of youth culture today—the pain, the unheard of conversations about sexual encounters and the fears of abandonment—if they want to reach teens for Christ,” Clark recently told participants at the Youth Ministry Conclave, sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

To illustrate is point, Clark played a video clip from a Family Channel documentary called Middle School Confessions that showcased a growing trend in adolescent sexual activity.

Chap Clark

“Middle School Confessions is the best documentary on today’s adolescent and teen culture,” said Clark. “Watching even part of it—and movies such as Crash—can help youth ministers and parents understand what they face and how to better address youth.”

Crash is not just a movie about racial issues in Los Angeles, Clark noted, but a microcosm of today’s youth culture.

The documentary Middle School Confessions illustrates troubling issues, including disturbing pre-teen conversations about sex and fears of abandonment at earlier ages than ever before, Clark said.

“If we don’t know their culture, we can’t understand them and reach out to them in the name of Christ,” he said.

“We must understand the challenges they are facing.”

Having worked in youth ministry more than 30 years and written 20 books, Clark described how he has taken time to develop honest relationships with young people. He encourages youth ministers and parents to do the same.

In one of his most recent books, Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers, Clark details the results from a year-long study of a wide demographic of high school youth across the country. He found his conversations with high school students were a wake-up call.

“The results were riveting,” Clark said. “Some of our focus groups revealed that the words ‘faith’ and ‘God’ never came up in conversations with students, even those known to be Christians.”

Clark’s research also revealed the under layers of teen culture and illuminated the depths of angst, pressure and loneliness they feel because parents are either too busy or have encouraged a too stressful and busy life for their children.

“We’re raising kids in a MySpace world,” he said. “What you hear from today’s 6th and 7th graders is mesmerizing in what it tells us about today’s adolescents and teenagers. Things have changed drastically.”

Youth today walk a tightrope of adolescence from child to adult, but they spend an extended time in mid-adolescence—a phenomenon never seen before in history, he noted.

Clark believes youth have no reason to celebrate life as they struggle through the often painful, lonely battles of growing up.

The picture of “adolescence” is much more complex than it used to be. Clark pointed out that many scholarly studies indicate adolescence now starts before age 12 and lasts for a 15-year period compared to a 1980s timeline indicating a starting age of 13, which lasted about 10 years.

Clark suggested youth ministers may need to change many assumptions because the level of trust between teenagers and many youth ministers has hit a wall of callousness.

He recommends youth ministers implement a middle-school ministry sensitive to the wounds of this difficult time. Seek out the strongest young people and recruit their parents.

In a world where parents and teens idolize the best-looking, the cute cheerleader, the best football player, it is time for a wakeup call, he insisted.

Clark contends some adults have isolated teens because of a focus on adult interests by rewarding teens for adult-pleasing achievements such as being the best 9-year-old football player. The focus must be on the individual needs of youth.

Sharing a poem by a 13-year-old, Clark showed how teens are expressing their frustrations with life and their parents: “I don’t think you understand. … Scratch that—I know you don’t understand.”

“Adults, even the best of them, don’t get it,” Clark stressed. “This story is one of thousands of teenagers who are having universal experiences.”

When sexy images of teen actors and singers affect millions of young girls and boys, it’s time for youth ministers to get parents on board, Clark said.

“Get the sharpest parent in the church on board,” he urged.

Consider holding a community seminar to invite all parents to get involved.

“We’re missing. Kids are more confused than ever before, and they need the love and support of Christ,” Clark emphasized. “They are in a 15-year process where they don’t know who they are and are totally alone. God is healing in the midst of cultural chaos. We must do the same.”

Pinpointing a few tips for growing youth ministry, Clark suggested:

• Stress that Jesus Christ—not the church, not ministry—is Lord and do so with gentleness and kindness.

• Ask yourself, “Do you respect kids enough to be gentle with them?”

• Go out and bring Jesus Christ to their campus.

• Love in clusters. Create friendships and a family.

• Give young people a reason to celebrate.

• The youth meeting starts when the first kid shows up and ends when the last kid is in bed—when you’ve sent or received that last text message before a kid goes to sleep.